Vitali Klitschko: Just How Good is He?
Published Nov 08 2010 by: Rich Thomas | Follow us on Facebook & on Twitter
As I wrote in my comparison of Golden Age Heavyweights vs. Modern Heavyweights, some believe that bigger is better and that a reasonably athletic, big heavyweight automatically beats a small one. According to such logic, the two Klitschko brothers are not only the dominant heavyweights of this era, but arguably the greatest of all-time. This article is the first installment in a two-part series examining the merits of that claim.
Despite his four year retirement from 2004 to 2008 and the fact that younger brother Wladimir Klitschko is often acknowledged as the more athletic of the two, Vitali Klitschko is often thought to be the better fighter of this Ukrainian pair. The reason is simple: Vitali is more willing to mix it up and get physical than his younger brother. If Wladimir appears at the top of the heavyweight rankings and is acknowledged as "the man" in the heavyweight division today, it is largely because he has more belts and has been more consistently active. Most of the time, when boxing analysts speculate on which brother is the best, big Vitali comes out on top.
Credit: Mike Boehm / ProBoxing-Fans.com
Klitschko is a good fighter with a solid set of assets. He stands over 6'7" tall and weighs in at around 250 lbs., has mastered the stand-up, straight-punching European style of boxing, wields great strength and power, and is remarkably mobile for a man his size. Dr. Ironfist is also a consummate professional. The Ukrainian is willing to get physical if the situation calls for it, and always shows up for a fight in superb condition. Against this, it must be said he is fragile and prone to injury. While the man can take a punch, he tends to get hurt in other ways both inside and outside the ring.
Questions of how Klitschko would stack up against his predecessors at the top of the heavyweight division are more easily answered than one might imagine, because he was the last man to fight the previous world champion, Lennox Lewis. Klitschko was beating Lennox Lewis at the jabbing game early on, and throughout the fight was the busier fighter. That is not surprising, because Klitschko was the hungry challenger and always shows up for fights in good shape. Lewis, on the other hand, had an eye on retirement and had prepared for an easy fight against underachiever Kirk Johnson. He weighed in at his career high that night, and it showed. When Lewis was unable to establish his jab, he got physical with Vitali and started landing the cleaner, harder shots. Lewis opened a cut over Klitschko's right eye in the 3rd, and nailed it hard at every opportunity thereafter. The cut became a sickening wound, leading the fight to be stopped and Lewis declared the winner.
One thing about that bout should be crystal clear to anyone who saw it and was familiar with Lewis's past career. Klitschko landed as many clean right hands on Lewis as anyone ever did, and while Lewis was staggered in Round 1, he was never in serious trouble. Hasim Rahman was able to flatten Lewis with his right only two years before, which makes one wonder if Vitali's enormous size fully translates into power the way so many thinks it does. Klitschko can crack, of that there is no doubt, but it is safe to say he at least doesn't hit harder than the smaller Rahman.
Also, when Klitschko mixed it up and got physical with Lennox Lewis, he came up short. Anyone who pleads that Klitschko was ahead on the cards at the time or would have easily won a rematch should both re-read the rules of boxing and then follow that by digging up what Emmanuel Steward has said about that fight. Steward trained Lewis and went on to train both Klitschko brothers, so he knows this matter as well or better than anyone. While Steward has never commented on what might have been in a rematch, it is clear he does not consider Lewis's victory in the original a mere accident. It stands to reason that although aging, if Lewis had appeared that night prepared to fight Klitschko and not Kirk Johnson, the results would have only been more, rather than less, decisive for Lewis.
So Klitschko lost to Lewis and was only able to ding, rather than dent the champ's whiskers. Lewis, in turn, was stretched to the limit by Ray Mercer and treated Evander Holyfield with considerable respect in two fights. Neither of these men were "super heavyweights," but were instead were of a size typical of most heavyweights since the late 1960s. Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall weren't Everest-scale giants either. Styles make fights, but clearly it is possible for men to overcome 25 lb-weight and three-inch height advantages and pose a threat to a much bigger man. Is Vitali Klitschko a good fighter? Yes, and he without a doubt bestrides the modern division like the colossus he is. Does that mean Dr. Ironfist would automatically wipe the floor with the smaller men of past decades? Nope. It simply means the smaller men of his own generation aren't all that good. Any heavyweight would find a fight with Vitali Klitschko to be a literal uphill struggle, but that does not automatically mean that reaching the top and declaring victory would be outright impossible.
Time for preparation for an opponent before a fight favors the phd who studies and prepares for his opponents meticulously not the fighter that improvises as Lewis did. Vitali is the meticulous phd not Lewis. Lewis thought it was a virtue that he improvised. But it showed in his fights because he was hit much more than Vitali ever was when he had time to prepare. Since Vitali’s return he his rarely hit at all. The lack of preparation that Vitali had for Lewis was an advantage for Lewis not the other way. At the end of their fight Lewis was exhausted, Vitali was not. In a rematch Vitali would have rarely been hit just like with his other opponents, but Lewis would have been worn down by the only big heavyweight in history capable of throwing 1013 punches in 12 rounds as Vitali did against Kevin Johnson. By the 8th or 9th round Lewis would have slumped on his stool and prepared to be KOed in the next round. Lewis was lucky Vitali had no preparation and was lucky to get the cut.
Comparing Lewis to Johnson is rubbish, as is the opinion of any man who thinks V. Klit could throw 1,000 punches in 12 rounds in a rematch with an fit Lewis when he didn’t do it against a flabby Lewis. And in boxing, “improvising” a Plan B is what separates a great fighter from a good one.
To be honest I think your views on the Lewis fight are complete nonsense and I would like to have alook at the fight again because you were obviously not of sound mind while you were watching it.
Lets clear up a couple of things about the Lewis fight you say Lewis “had an eye on retirement and had prepared for an easy fight against underachiever Kirk Johnson. He weighed in at his career high that night, and it showed.” Lewis 1st of all was one of those fighters who improved with age peeking in his mid thirties and still improving which alot of people acknowledged and as we know had another fight in line after Klitschko a fact which alot of people overlook bearing in mind he retired after this fight. The reason his weight was at a career high for that fight was because as stated by his trainer Steward and his fitness coaches he was facing the biggest heavyweight of his career and the weight was tactical. Klitschko was also given short notice for this fight obviously and he certainly was not training for a fighter of Lewis’s calibre.
You say Lewis was staggered in R1 and was never in serious trouble I can recall quite clearly in R2 Lewis clinging on for dear life with George Foreman stating one combination and Lewis is finished he clung on being staggered plenty of times. I also see you’ve used Rahmans knock out of Lewis to compare power. Rahmans knockout of Lewis as everyone knows was just one of those lucky knockout blows which he inflicted in the 5th round and was also the fight where Lewis was the most unprepared starring in oceans eleven just before and also having a disrupted training camp, the Lewis-Klitschko fight was stopped in the 6th who’s to say Vitali wouldn’t have knocked Lewis out after that, I for one certainly believe he would have been.
You state “when Klitschko mixed it up and got physical with Lennox Lewis, he came up short” I really believe you haven’t seen this fight, every time Lewis was using his trademark holding and clinching Vitali was more than able for him physically out muscling him more often than not. Vitali was winning the fight 4 – 2 and 5 – 1 by alot of pundits most agreeing Lewis getting the 3rd for the cut even though he was outpointed. The cut was caused by an overhand right which the top-inner part of the glove scrapped across the eye it was unlucky on Vitali’s behalf. He fought on with vision only from his right eye and was still winning rounds.
The 6th/final round Lewis gave his all trying to go for the one big punch, he caught klitschko with a thunderous uppercut (the biggest in his arsenal) due mostly to Vitalis lack of vision to which Vitali took and was never knocked(having never been knocked in his career unlike Lewis) when the round ended Lewis flung himself onto the stool exhausted and most pundits believe Lewis was out of gas listen to Foreman and Merchant.
Another idiotic point you make is that Lewis was stretched to the limit by Mercer and Holyfield trying to point out they were more formidable opponents than Vitali absolute rubbish. Remember the fight was stopped due to cuts it wasn’t a proper ending to the fight as everyone accepted, receiving a cut like that was a very unlucky as I stated earlier was highly misfortune and very fortunate for Lewis. Vitali was limited after that cut and still won rounds easily without that he would have certainly KO’d Lewis.
Lennox got out of jail that night and it is almost certain he retired in the belief he would lose the rematch.
So, Lewis beat Holyfield and Tyson most surely the best of the small men.
Then Vitali and Lewis had an even match.
Therefore: What?
It would seem Vitali, like Lewis, is one of the huge Alpha males, who would beat any smaller heavyweight of any time. THIS IS BY YOUR OWN ARGUMENT.
BUT YOU FORGET TO LOOK AT OTHER FACTS: No one has beaten Vitali, and in less than 1 time in 20 has the injuries led to his demise. 1 in 20!! Not that much a of problem. Take a look at other records of great smaller men. Secondly, Briggs who has faced EVERYONE thinks that Vitali is the best. Fast, hard hitting. He broke his face.
Honestly, if you watch the tapes of the 190-215 pound greats 1900-2000, you see so many weaknesses and flaws, that only ignorance can have you think that they would have any chance against Vitali. Honestly, you think 196 pound Rudi Lubbers would last 15rounds against Vitali, or that Frazier at 205 and a one dimensional style could take Vitali to the limits? I laugh.
If Putty had bothered to read the Moderns vs. Seventies article, he would have seen that Vitali Klitschko was picked to beat Joe Frazier. But to call Smoking Joe “one dimensional?” That is the thing to laugh at.
You know what I see when I read these comments? Klitschko lovers who can only make a point by either making things up or twisting someone else’e words beyond all recognition. Anyone who has laced up the gloves, sat at ringside as a judge, or climbed through the ropes as a referee knows what happened in their last night. Don’t believe me? Just ask Emmanuel Stewards, you f*cking clowns! You remember him – former trainer of Lewis, current trainer of the Klitschkos?